1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to devices and systems for detecting fluid leaks, and particularly to a pipeline leak detector that travels through a pipeline to detect leaks in the walls and/or joints of the pipeline.
2. Description of the Related Art
Pipelines for the conveyance of various liquids are often the most convenient means for transporting such liquids from one point to another. Obviously, there is some economic benefit or advantage in moving the liquids from one place to another, or there would be no point in spending the money to construct the pipeline in the first place. While many persons think of the conveyance of liquids, such as oil, as providing the greatest economic benefit, even less costly liquids, such as water, can provide significant economic benefit when they are transported from locations where they are readily available to locations where they are needed, e.g., major urban areas, agricultural areas, etc.
Due to the financial value of such liquids, it is important to reduce the loss of these liquids to the greatest practical extent. Moreover, many liquids, such as petroleum products, are harmful when released into the general environment. While water is not inherently toxic, it can also do great damage if a sufficient quantity is released into an area where it is not desired, e.g., flooding, soil erosion, softening of underlying soil and weakening of structural foundations, etc. Even relatively small water leaks can result in damage over a prolonged period of time, and the economic loss resulting from the water loss can also be significant over a lengthy period of time, even when no environmental damage occurs.
A number of different robotic devices have been developed in the past for insertion into pipelines, with the devices traveling through the pipe and reporting or registering the locations of the internal condition of the pipe and/or any apparent leakage. These devices are generally known as “pigs,” due to the generally elliptical spheroid shape of many such devices. Numerous principles are used by such devices for the detection of internal damage to pipes, including acoustic sensing. However, acoustic sensing is not suitable for use with all pipe materials. Many pipe materials, such as polyvinyl chloride (PVC) and other plastics, rapidly attenuate acoustic transmissions to the point that it is difficult to detect anomalous echoes that may indicate damage to the pipe. Moreover, many of the robotic devices are self-propelled, with the propulsion systems producing a certain amount of acoustic “noise” that can be difficult to filter out when the device is attempting to detect returns from its acoustic detection system.
Thus, a pipeline leak detector solving the aforementioned problems is desired.